Convicted on Lesser Charges, Clyburn Vows Appeal

After a quick two-day retrial before a judge, former United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 FCU CEO Anne L. Clyburn was convicted June 28 on 12 counts that she used credit union checks to pay personal dental bills.

Clyburn’s 2010 conviction on 34 counts that she stole $32,469 from the $6.9 million Philadelphia-area credit union was overturned last year on a technicality after she proved the court failed to properly inform her of her right to waive legal representation.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Steven Latzer dropped most of the charges for the retrial, choosing to only proceed with charges involving the dental bills, worth approximately $1,300.

Due the smaller theft amount, eight of the counts were misdemeanors, Latzer said. The remaining four were felonies, counts that involved the illegal use of credit union computers to alter the checks and payment information.

Latzer said Clyburn, who served nine months in jail following her 2010 conviction, was credited with time served and walked out of the courthouse with three years’ probation and an order to pay restitution of less than $1,500 for the theft.

“I’m very pleased with the outcome,” Latzer said. “We have said all along that she committed theft from the credit union, and Friday’s verdict bears that out.”

Clyburn, however, was defiant in a statement she provided to Credit Union Times. The former CEO said she continues to maintain her innocence, and said she will pursue an appeal on the basis of an expired statute of limitations, an issue that came up during the trial, and actions committed by the prosecutor in the weeks preceding the trial.

“It must be noted that key prosecution witnesses acknowledged in their testimony that credit union officials violated both NCUA regulations and federal law,” she wrote.

“Credit union officials, according to prosecution witness testimony, failed to inform their members about the alleged $1300.00 theft, and failed to report the alleged theft to federal authorities within 30 days as required by federal law. Prosecution witnesses also conceded in their testimony that potentially exculpatory documents were missing from the credit union's records.”

Clyburn also blasted the district attorney’s office for squandering “five years of taxpayer resources to secure a $1300.00 theft conviction,” calling the use of funds “the real scandal in this case.”